Research Topic

New York -- A report released Monday by Ipsos found that affluent optimism in the U.S. economy rose significantly in February.

Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon should have plenty to say when he addresses investors March 5 at the 34th Annual Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference.

^{Simon’s comments precede the Raymond James conference but come roughly two weeks after Walmart reported disappointing top line growth at its U.S. stores by posting 1% comp increase that was at the low end of a forecast range calling for a gain of 1% to 3%. The company also issued a tepid outlook for first quarter growth with comps expected to be flat to up 2%.}

LAKELAND, Fla. — Publix on Friday recorded fiscal 2012 sales of $27.5 billion, up 1.9%. However, 2012 year-end sales included a 52-week period, versus 2011 year-end sales that were tracked over a 53-week period. Excluding that extra week, sales for 2012 would have been up by 3.8%. Same-store sales were up 2.2% for the year. 

Columbus, Ohio -- Limited Brands Inc. said that its fourth quarter net income in the 14-week period through Feb. 2, 2013, rose a better-than expected 14% to $411.4 million. That compares to a 13-week period that ended on Jan. 28, 2012, in which net income came to $359.4 million. The chain also forecast profit for the current quarter and fiscal year below analysts' expectations.
 

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl's Corp. reported a lower fourth quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by markdowns during the holiday season. The loss was lower than Wall Street had expected. The retailer also forecast full-year earnings that fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
 
Kohl's said its net income fell to $378 million for the quarter ended Feb.2, from $455 million a year earlier. (The retail calendar for fiscal January 2013 included a fifth week, resulting in a 14-week fiscal fourth quarter and a 53-week year.)

Chesapeake, Va. -- Dollar Tree Inc. reported Wednesday a bigger-than-expected profit of $228.6 million for the quarter ended on Feb. 2, up from $187.9 million in the year-ago period.

Sales climbed 15.4% to $2.25 billion, boosted by an extra week in the quarter. Wall Street expected $2.23 billion in sales. Same-store sales increased 2.4%.

Whiting, Ind. -- Research released Wednesday by CouponCabin.com showed that more than half of U.S. adults’ online shopping habits won’t be impacted by rising shipping costs.

According to the survey, conducted by Harris Interactive for CouponCabin.com, 51% of those polled said they are neither more or less likely to shop online, even with potentially increasing shipping costs. An additional 7% said they are more likely to shop online.

Franklin, Tenn. -- The overall penetration of POS devices continued to expand 3.9% in North America and 4.6% around the globe in 2012, according to The POS Vendor Shipments Database, released Wednesday by IHL Group. Growth is expected to continue at 3.6% worldwide for 2013.  

Dallas -- 7-Eleven announced Tuesday that the company achieved record store growth in 2012 and expects the number of 7-Eleven stores worldwide to pass the 50,000-store mark by the end of the first quarter.

The c-store chain added nearly 5,000 stores globally in 2012; 1,000 were in the U.S. and Canada. At year’s end, 7-Eleven operated 49,500 stores in 16 countries.

Waban, Mass. -- Survey results released Wednesday by Temkin Group revealed that Publix and Trader Joe’s ranked the highest among 246 companies in terms of customer experience.

The 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings, which polled 10,000 U.S. consumers, were dominated by grocery chains and food purveyors. After Public and Trader Joe’s was Aldi, and rounding out the top 12 were Chick-fil-A, Amazon.com, Sam's Club, H.E.B., Dunkin' Donuts, Save-a-Lot, Sonic Drive-In, Little Caeser's and Ace Hardware.